Please consider how you might honor the Most Precious Blood of Jesus during this month of July.
Here is your trad calendar for July: http://www.calefactory.org/calendar/wc202207.htm
God bless you and your families. Thank you for reading!
ROE VS WADE OVERTURNED ON THE FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART!
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NEW ADVENT
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As I groggily sauntered into the kitchen this morning, my husband immediately greeted me with the stunning news. We all suspected this was coming, but you are never quite ready for that moment when something anticipated becomes real. As I was still trying to absorb the information, I did my customary glance at the Catholic calendar and saw “The Sacred Heart of Jesus” as today’s feast. Instantly I said to myself, “Not a coincidence! Amazing!” Tomorrow is also the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. After waiting just shy of 50 long years, the dice land on this day. This shows God’s omnipotent Providence in all things and gives us great consolation. This incredible day is graced by the Two Hearts!
After spending the past 34 years fighting for life, I never thought I would live to see this day. There is a feeling of joy thinking of all my pro-life friends, past and present, rejoicing today. A wave of positive energy has shot through the world…a world that desperately needs it. It’s hard to believe it’s true.
Yes, there are those who will take this opportunity to do evil and to persecute us more viciously, but we cannot focus on that ugliness from Hell. We must focus on Heaven, life and beauty. Just look at a picture of a precious baby and you will regain your perspective. Let us thank God in the coming days and continue to pray for peace and the safety of our people. Let us continue the fight for life as never before. Evil cannot stand forever. Christ already has the victory on the Cross! Alleluia!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy upon us
“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph”
June is the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Veni, Sancte Spiritus!
Fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love!
10 days after Ascension Thursday, the first Sunday of June, we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost or Whitsunday. Many pray a novena between Ascension and Pentecost. These 9 days actually were the origin of the novena itself. It is wonderful to continue these Catholic traditions and teach them to the younger generation.
The first Marian feast of June is the new feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, which is always the day after Pentecost. Let us commend Holy Church in all our difficulties to Our Lady at this time. 2 days later, we begin the Ember Days of Pentecost (or Summer). These are days of prayer and penance for the coming season. As things are heating up in the world on all fronts, prayer and penance is desperately needed. The Ember Days also present an opportunity to teach children Catholic tradition in a fun way, incorporating crafts, artwork, etc. This month gives us 4 Doctors of the Church: Saint Ephrem of Syria, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Basil the Great and Saint Cyril of Alexandria. One week after Pentecost, we have Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate all 3 Persons of the Most Holy Trinity.
Not only do we honor Our Lord’s Sacred Heart in June, we also honor His Body in the feasts of Corpus Christi (trad) and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (new). On the 24th, we celebrate the Sacred Heart and on the 25th, the Immaculate Heart of Mary. So intimate are these 2 Hearts, that they cannot be separated. (Keep in mind, the feast of the Sacred Heart is a solemnity, so no Friday penance is required.) How may we reciprocate the incomprehensible love which emanates from the Sacred Heart of Jesus this month? We may consider beginning the Nine First Fridays Devotion, given to Saint Margaret Mary by Our Lord Himself. We may also consider making a good confession, contemplating how we have failed to love others adequately…or come up with your own ideas as a family!
In the age of chastisement upon us, let us flee to the Sacred Heart of Our Blessed Lord in all our sufferings and needs…
“Most sweet Jesus, whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thee, eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries to which Thy loving Heart is everywhere subject.”
From Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart prayer.
And let us never lose hope, for Our Lady of Fatima has promised an era of peace to come…
“Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm. Give peace and order to all nations and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation. To It be glory and honor forever!”
From Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Pope Pius XI.
But more importantly, Heaven is our true home where we will reside in eternal happiness with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Here is the traditional calendar for the month of June: https://calefactory.org/calendar
Image from https://sahe.hwcdsb.ca
+++ Memorial Day USA +++
It is a dying culture which cannot mourn.
True, some do honor the dead in America on this day…the dead who supposedly died for us, for our “freedom.” Generally it is those who have lost a loved one in the military, veterans or those few strange people who actually care simply because they are American. The vast majority engage in parties and shopping, without stopping for a moment to contemplate the actual purpose of Memorial Day. What does this say about our culture…and where it’s going?
There is a concerning new trend, the “Celebration of Life” alternative to the funeral. People feel, instead of “being sad,” we should simply “celebrate the person’s life” and essentially have a party, instead of any shared mourning ritual at the time of death. This is the time when people need to grieve together and work through it to some measure of closure. The universal Requiem is an ancient process that modern man is doing away with, because he is so clever and evolved. He thinks he knows human nature better than our ancestors. As he drifts further from God and nature, he forgets even the distinction between life and death. This is well illustrated with In Vitro Fertilization, a horrific melding of the creation of life and the wanton disposal of it. Ritual implies there is a human heart and someone worth grieving for. Of course, it is most often performed in a religious setting, but the New World Order man has no God but Caesar.
Ironically, this has become the age of the half-mast flag. Where there is mourning everywhere, there is mourning nowhere. Caesar tells us who we should perennially be mourning for. As death encompasses us, desensitization is what follows. Such a society is prepared for crimes against humanity…to accept them, to commit them.
My husband’s uncle was shot to death at Germany’s famous WWII Battle of the Bulge. He was 26 years old. His body was never returned home (there is a dignified stone for him in the family cemetery). This is what the enemy does in these never-ending corrupt wars. What did Uncle Harry die for? In the past 2 years, we have set the precedent for restricted travel, cessation of public religious practice, limited medical treatment and lack of autonomy over our own bodies. And we’re still singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
What does one do within a dying culture? This is the question we all must answer at this very hour. There is probably not much more time to take action. We will not all come up with the same answer…
"Take ye heed, watch and pray.”
Mark 13:33
Let us pray for our dear fallen soldiers, beautiful young men with so much promise…
Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.
Image from patch.com
Prayer Request
One of our readers, Fr. Stephen, has asked for prayer for his special intentions. Let us keep him in prayer and let us recite the “Salve Regina” for him right now:
Hail Holy Queen
Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears
Turn then, most gracious Advocate
Thine eyes of mercy toward us
And after this, our exile
Show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus
O Clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary
Pray for us O holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ
Amen
+ + +
Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve
Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
In hac lacrimarum valle
Eia ergo, Advocata nostra
Illos tuos misericordes oculos
Ad nos converte
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui
Nobis, post hoc exsilium ostende
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis
Virgo Maria
Amen
Please feel free to contact us (button above) with any prayer intentions.
May is the Month of Our Lady
O Mary, powerful Virgin, thou art the mighty and glorious protector of the Church. Thou art the marvelous help of Christians. Thou art terrible as an army in battle array. Thou alone hast destroyed every heresy in the whole world. In the midst of our anguish, our struggles and our distress, defend us from the power of the enemy, and at the hour of our death, receive our souls in paradise. Amen.
From The Raccolta
In this first week of May, the month dedicated to Our Lady, let us contemplate the extraordinary painting above, which is based on the Miraculous Medal.* She seems to be lovingly gazing down upon the world as she crushes the head of the serpent with her bare foot. Usually, we see this image with Our Lady standing upon the earth (or the firmament). It is her children’s enemy she defeats. She has a look of complete peace and as the rays of grace emanate from her hands, this battle seems effortless for her. Satan, with all his wiles and powerful minions below, is no match for this simple woman from Nazareth. What a humiliating demise as the angels look on. A demise which awaits all those who serve him on earth. We must trust, as we look at the corruption of the world and the ever-growing human rights abuses, that God has got this. As we say at the outset of every Tridentine Mass…
“Why art thou sad, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me? Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him, the salvation of my countenance and my God.”
Above the Queen of Heaven’s head are the other elements of the Miraculous Medal (the 12 stars on the back of the medal do not seem to be in the painting): the Cross above her initial, the 2 Hearts and a prayer which she has herself said is one of her favorites…
“O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!”
Saint Catherine Laboure was the nun who received the Miraculous Medal from Our Lady. Her incorrupt body lies at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris, where she received 3 visions in the year 1830 (this year is also on the front of the medal). Pope John Paul II visited the chapel in 1980 and spoke this prayer…
"You watch over the Church for you are its Mother. You watch over each of your children. From God, you obtain for us, all graces that are symbolized by the rays of light which radiate from your open hands, and the only condition that you demand of us is that we approach with the confidence…and the simplicity of a child. And it is thus that you bring us before your Divine Son."
What does all of this mean for us? It means our Heavenly Father has given us a great advocate to help us through anything life and this crazy world might throw at us. When we are confused, depressed or anxious, we have only to appeal to her motherly love for us. For if her Son loved us so much that He died for us, how could she reject us? As the words of the “Memorare” say…
“I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins”
In this month of May, there are many ways we can give honor to the Mother of God…because she is our Mediatrix, she participated in our salvation by saying “Yes” to God, and also suffered terribly in witnessing the Passion of her Son. Perhaps we could renew our devotion to the Miraculous Medal, learning more about it and the life of Saint Catherine Laboure. May would also be a most appropriate month to begin the “Communion of Reparation 5 First Saturdays,” associated with Fatima. If your local parish does not provide this devotion, think about meeting with your pastor to establish it!
May also gives us 3 Marian feasts: Our Lady of Fatima on the 13th, The Visitation and Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, both on the 31st. Mother’s Day is the 8th…how about a Rosary for your mother (2 birds with one stone!).
Some other feasts this month: ASCENSION OF THE LORD, Minor Rogation Days…Doctors of the Church: Saints Athanasius (the earliest Doctor), Gregory Nazianzen and Bede the Venerable…Saint Isidore the Farmer!
For the (trad) rest of May, here you go: calefactory.org
* Sorry, I don’t know who the artist is. Can anyone tell me?
Some feasts mentioned are in the new calendar. Image from fineartamerica.com
Saint Joseph the Workman
I recently came across this prayer to Saint Joseph in a church bulletin. I was unfamiliar with it and thought it was so beautiful. It speaks to our times and the challenges we are all faced with. Perhaps it should start with some prayer to Our Lady (during this month of May!), since the first line indicates that we have sought her help…
To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our afflictions, and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by His Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ. O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence. O our most mighty protector, be kind to us and from Heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness. As once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness, and to obtain eternal happiness in Heaven.
Amen.
Saint Joseph the Workman, pray for us!
Saint Joseph, we pray for all those seeking employment, that they may find work soon, that is useful, but also apart from the corruption of the world. Amen.
Thought for the Day
The current state of western civilization:
We are so clean, and yet we are filthy.
We are so concerned about contamination, and yet we are diseased.
We are so in fear of death, and yet we are dead.
April is the Month of the Holy Eucharist
[Due to personal circumstances, this month’s post will be brief.]
We continue with Lent, culminating in the amazing spiritual blessings of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. Let us receive abundant graces and give the Most Holy Trinity our very best this year, so we may be deserving of the glorious celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord…and in so-doing may experience our own resurrections!
How may we honor the Holy Eucharist this month? A few ideas: try to receive more devoutly and attentively, it is so easy to take the Eucharist for granted…there are countless Eucharistic prayers to learn…Eucharistic reading…and one of the most difficult things is to defend the Holy Eucharist from sacrilege, since this tragically has become so prevalent-if you know someone who is receiving and probably shouldn’t be, pray on how you might address this with this person…you may also know someone who isn’t receiving and should be-scrupulosity is a terrible problem for some people and can deprive them of a lifetime of grace-sometimes these problems require great patience and continued prayer, but don’t give up hope!
Here is the traditional calendar for this month of April: calefactory.org
My Brother John
Only 2 days after I asked for prayers on the Feast of the Annunciation, my dear brother John passed to the Lord. He had a long and very courageous battle with cancer. He was a writer, like myself, but far more successful. John passed on the joyful Laetare Sunday on the traditional feast of Saint John Damascene, a Doctor of the Church and another writer named John! My brother was 71, a number of years older than me.
I appreciate the prayers of our readers and would ask for continued prayer for the repose of John’s soul and his loved ones who remain in grief…especially for my mother, who is now 90 and was only 18 when he was born. Thank you so much.
+ + +
Lord, hear my prayer.
And let my cry come unto Thee.
Let us pray:
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the soul of Thy servant departed, John, the remission of all his sins, that by our devout supplications he may obtain that pardon which he has always desired. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Eternal rest give unto him, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
Based on De Profundis